As we approach August, we’re not only full of anticipation for the upcoming grape harvest but also excited to enjoy the bounty of the garden. Fresh fruits and vegetables abound with warm days and cool evenings in Northern California and this year offers no exception. The garden my wife and I tend at our home in Santa Rosa is coming along nicely and includes some of the basics, some delicate fruit selections and a transplant from the East Coast.

The basics include what could become an instant summer salad with basil tomatoes (add Mozzarella and our Calstar 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and you’re done!) as well as onions and peppers (who needs Philly, just a nice BBQ and our 2006 Alta Zin). A more interesting, and perhaps risky vegetable is asparagus, which is doing well for being in its second year, and we hope to have a nice crop next year (with a little luck).

Our fruits include persimmon and lemon trees, both doing well but an apple a day may not be in our future, as the apple and the peach trees are not fairing as well. The delicate includes the raspberry plants that we received from the Londer family (of the same family that we source our Londer Estate Pinot Noir) which are taking (second time’s a charm) having planted them in the spot that previously housed four Merlot vines. We will reap the delicious results of this change but I will miss the vines as they did provide nice smoker material.

Transplanting can be difficult, both for people, and for trees (seeds) but time and luck can prove successful. The maple seeds I brought back from a visit back East (Maryland) bore one seedling that is doing well and there is nothing better than being a transplant with reminder of home.

Rounding out this week and prepping for the 2009 vintage included confirmation of grape sourcing, and have lined up the following: